Awakening from his meditation, Vicente soon heard his new servants congratulating him on his progress, telling him how great he was and how much stronger he would be in the future.
That didn't bother him, and he soon concentrated on finalizing his dealings with these people, quickly writing a Magic Agreement that would benefit him more than them.
A contract of servitude worked in the master's favor!
None of the seven adults there saw any problem with Vicente's terms and accepted them without question.
With seven contracts signed, Vicente gave the people the guns he had made with enough ammunition for them to leave The Rocky Gorge. Of course, he also gave them masks to protect their identities.
"Wear these for now. I want you to go to Millfall and find the Mazzanti family headquarters. There, the Deputy will take care of you and arrange places for you to serve me according to your abilities." He advised them.
The seven who had signed contracts of servitude with him accepted, and then Vicente looked at the two women who would leave with their brothers later. "As for you two, you should travel together to them for now. The deputy head of my family will see what he can do and send you safely to your destination. It will take a few days, but eventually, you will have the freedom you desire."
"Thank you, Mister Cesar!" The two thanked him.
"You all can take half of the 1st-grade items you cataloged for me. Use them wisely on your journey to Millfall."
The eyes of these people shone while some still put on their metal masks.
"Master, there are two more maps besides the one you saw earlier. They're right over there." The level 1 woman commented as she pointed to them. "I hope they can help you with your task."
"Hmmm."
With that, the group of 11 people, no longer hesitating, set off in the simple formation Vicente had taught them and started their journey toward the Mazzanti family headquarters.
Left alone there, Vicente collected several bronze, silver, and gold coins, the equivalent of 300 gold coins.
It wasn't much compared to his current wealth, but it was a very high value for a group of low-level thieves!
Apart from the coins, there were a few artifacts, most of them being low-grade spatial rings, weapons, and armor, all of them 1st grade.
Vicente kept them because he had men who could use those things.
As for the pills and potions, the group that had just left had taken half of everything there, leaving Vicente with 6 potions and 3 pills, with only one 2nd-grade pill.
Finally, he picked up the maps and studied them, comparing the three maps he had and realizing that two were from this region but marked different places.
'I have two destinations. I'll go to the place closest to where I am.' He decided as he put the other map away and held up the first one he had looked at earlier. 'I hope this is the basilisk's nest!'
...
After Vicente left the cave where the old goblin camp was, it didn't take him long to reach the spot marked on one of the maps of the region he had just picked up.
Traveling with a map was much easier than randomly searching for small signs that might lead nowhere.
Following the path marked by the goblins, Vicente soon found himself in front of a special place in the area of The Rocky Gorge, which wasn't the basilisk's nest but had its value to him.
Once he reached the spot marked with an 'x' on the map, he didn't even need to use his skill to see what the goblins' object of interest was.
In a deep part of the tree-covered canyon in this region, where there was a small stream, there was a small plant growing on a purple crystal.
At first glance, one might think this was just an ordinary crystal and plant. But when Vicente felt the mana coming from it, he didn't even need to use his skill to realize it was valuable.
'That... A wild magic herb?' He asked himself as he looked at it closely, standing at a certain distance from it.
There were two types of herbs, not measuring their quality, of course. Some were wild and grew naturally, and some were artificial, planted, and controlled by intelligent organisms, mostly humans.
But while artificial herbs made up most of the world's, they had one major weakness. Because of how they were grown, they didn't develop an essential part: consciousness.
The plants in Polaris Realm developed consciousness and even formed pentagrams, almost like beasts and some kinds of magical beings did.
However, artificial magic herbs were suppressed and cultivated to have only their most essential essences, so they didn't develop pentagrams or consciousness.
Wild herbs, on the other hand, were the natural forms of these organisms that could increase their level and quality while alive, have consciousness, and even generate pentagrams.
They were precious to alchemists because their pentagrams were the most compatible with people with botanical skills.
Moreover, even if you weren't interested in the pentagram these beings could generate, the "nutritional value" of wild herbs in pills and potions was much higher than that of artificial ones of the same type.
That all sounded very good, but there was a catch.
Conscious plants were as violent as beasts!
If the goblins knew where this plant was, it meant that they hadn't been able to harvest it and were keeping an eye on this place.
'What should I do?' Vicente sensed the level of that herb, which should be at the same level or even stronger than the 3rd stage basilisk.
Wild herbs had two classifications in terms of their properties. One was before their consciousness was destroyed, and the other after.
The first classification put them in the same reality as magical beings, and they were classified according to the traditional stages of magic. When they had their consciousness killed, they were no longer considered living beings and were classified as magical resources, just like pills and artifacts in general.
'This herb is here because no one who knows about it has been able to defeat it. Or perhaps it is because the third stage basilisk itself intends to devour it when it reaches its maximum development. That means it's either very strong or the basilisk is watching this place...'
Vincent thought. 'Either way, I'll have to face a 3rd-stage being if I want it!'
Vicente knew how valuable it could be and the power it would give him to attract a talented alchemist to his family and even create pills with excellent properties. Aware the path was not easy for those like him, he stood firm where he was and convinced himself to act!
'As long as I'm here, there's no reason not to take a chance! Let's see those 3rd stage powers!' He told himself as he walked toward the herb while his pentagrams gradually emerged from his body.
